The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent into the Ocean's Depths

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Summary: A tragic story, a great book, a must for any serious diver
Review: Having learned of the fate of the father and son team that is the main subject of this book from a PBS documentary, and being a newly certified SCUBA diver, I was automatically attracted to this fine book. While there are some who believe that the technical aspects of this book should have been left out so that it flowed better, I disagree. This book should serve as a warning to all, no matter how well trained, how experienced that SCUBA diving is not simply a matter of throwing a tank on your back and getting wet. That things can and will go wrong and that while it may seem simple SCUBA diving is not simple. Mr. Chowdhury has done well to capture what lures myself, and my friends into the deep. The urge to explore, to see what is down there. Technical divers are a breed apart, this book goes to great lengths to explain this and make it overwhelmingly clear that these are a special breed. Having had one of the best instructors to ever live, a man who was friends with Shek Exley dove the same caves as him in Florida, and is one of the best tech divers around this book only reinforced this notion. These are not your clear blue water divers who go to see the pretty fishes and clutter up the bottom with poor techniques. These are the hardcore divers, who are about skill and dedication. This book should be read by anyone considering training in technical diving skills so that they may realize what lays at the bottom, the dangers as well as the rewards.

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Summary: the last dive
Review: This book was great! I could not put the thing down! Deadly and a delightful read. It will leave you numb --and if you dive
it will take some wind out your sails

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Summary: a must for divers
Review: I learned a lot about the world of the extreme divers and their methods and madness. I feel that I learned from their mistakes. The book contains many pages about the authors experiences also , I found that info to be relevant to the theme of the book. my thanks to Bernie Choudhury.

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Summary: Daedulus and Icarus of the Deep
Review: The protagonists of the book, a father-son scuba team, were destined to meet a nasty end. Chowdhury clearly likes and respects his former dive buddies, but his honesty brings out the tragic character flaw shared by this buddy team that ultimately sunk them both - a destructively competitive attitude that one day turns into a quest to push the limits on diving to make a point. Like the birdman Icarus who flew too close to the sun, the kid in this tale pushes too close to the limits trying to achieve glory in the field of deep wreck diving and finds disaster instead. Unlike the Greek myth, in this tale the father "Daedulus" goes down with the son. Chowdhury also shares his own brush with death while performing an ill-advised wreck dive. A compelling and instructive tale of what not to do underwater.

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Summary: Don't Miss This Book
Review: This book is absolutely incredible. Not some horrific tale, nor a sanitized account of technical diving. This book clearly describes and discusses the thrill, drive and lure that many of us feel to dive deep, push the envelope and take the risks associated with this type of diving. This book goes through the history,of technical diving, and uses the experiences of the author and the Rouses in order to captivate you and draw you in. Once you start reading this book, you will not put it down. It is not only for tech divers, but anyone who wants to feel like you are inside the wrecks, caves and feeling the weight of the ocean bearing down on you during the struggle for life and death.

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Summary: The side of scuba diving that most people don't know
Review: Bernie Chowduhry presents an insightful, brutally honest, no-holds-barred look at the world of technical diving in "The Last Dive". Using his own personal knowledge and years of diving experience, he tells the story of Chris and Chrissy Rouse in a non-judgmental way that allows the reader to decide for him or herself whether the two men were justified or dove for the wrong reasons. The book explores the psyche behind people who engage in high risk activities and also presents the Rouse family background which may or may not have contributed to their fatal dive.
I feel that the book is a must-read for people either engaged in technical diving or in the process of training as technical divers, such as myself. "The Last Dive" really encourages the reader to think about risk management, proper training, and self-evaluation while diving in conditions beyond the recreational level. Along the same lines, the book also serves as a historical perspective on technical diving, an arena which is becoming more visible and increasing safety by bringing knowledge to divers beyond the confines of closed-door groups and garage gas blenders. However, I would not highly recommend this book to newly certified divers, or else warn them to read with proper context in mind, as Chowduhry's accounts can certainly scare the living hell out of just about anyone!
My one criticism of the book is that Chowduhry spends a great deal of time early in the reading discussing the history, physiology, and physics of diving, including a lot of diver-speak, which make it bland and slow for the non-diver or divers with less knowledge on these subjects. While important in explaining what went wrong in the Rouses' final dive, I feel it could have been a bit more abbreviated.
Overall, a great read and an insight into one of mankind's final frontiers.

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Summary: Awkward and trite, too many cliches for me.
Review: While the subject matter of "The Last Dive" is compeling enough to carry its own story line, the author's attempts to interject contrived dialogue is embarrasing and a deteriment to his otherwise skillfull writing. Chowdhury would have been well advised to simply tell the story and not try to animate it with guessed-at dialogue. I came away disliking the "cowboy-like" father and son diving team and their tragic demise came as no surprise. Chowdhury's techincal explanations and descrption of the history of the sport are very good. Unfortunately his fictionalizing of the varous conversations is more cartoon than clever.

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Summary: What not to do in diving.
Review: This books greatest value is that it shows what NOT do to in diving, and why some people should not be allowed to dive.

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Summary: The Last Dive
Review: If you have ever been on a wreak dive.If you have ever been on a live abord charter.If you have ever had the men your diving with talk themselves into something they know they shouldn't do ...
This book dose not gloss over personalitys .It shows with a reality all too personal.For anyone who dives ,life and death is in your hands as you plan your dive.But as you exicute it , there is no planning for the terror. I know it. I felt it at 70' caught in a fishing net on a wreak in the dark.Bernie knows .He writes of his own experance. And he is man enouf to discuss what happens to himself and his friends.I don't know Bernie.But the folks he dives with are real.If you scuba dive you might see parts of yourself or your dive buddies .A good realistic read.

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Summary: Great
Review: This book was recommended by a fellow diver and he was right, its a great book. It's an interesting mix of the history and technical aspects of diving along with a great story. For divers or non-divers this is a great read.